South Korean Household Debt Rises

Updated Sept. 25, 2002 12:42 a.m. ET

South Korea's household debt including loans and credit card bills totaled 397.5 trillion won ($328 billion) end-June, up 34.3% year-on-year, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday. The total was also up 8%, or 29.3 trillion won, from the end of March, the central bank added. The greater availability of credit cards contributed to the increase, the bank said, while borrowing from banks and other financial companies also continued to rise due to low interest rates. Debt per household averaged 27.2 million won at the end of June, up 2 million won from the end of March. Credit-card bills and other outstanding consumer bills...